A Slip of the Tongue
by alicehamesrose
Summary: In the middle of a catch-up with Ginny Harry lets slip of something he, Ron or Hermione had yet got round to telling Ginny: that Ron left. Rated it K because it might get quite tense for some people. Hopefully not in code this time!


Harry had only been innocently talking about the years past to Ginny. She insisted she needed to catch up. She needed to know. This was important for their communication and Harry knew that. So, on her bed (with the door wide open, a rule made by Mrs Weasley) Ginny lay against Harry with his head on her shoulder, her legs between Harry's legs, listening to him talk while their entwined hands did a little dance.

"And after Ron left-"

"Wait, what?" Ginny sat up and turned to look at Harry.

Harry had been so caught up in his little ramblings that he had forgotten that he nor Ron had told Ginny about his exit of rage that had occurred last year. Harry, in fact, danced around the topic telling a mixture of little lies with the truth to avoid the conversation altogether. "Ron left?" Harry started feeling a little sick in his stomach and his mind was too jumbled to make a cohesive sentence, so he sat there opening and closing his mouth like a shell-shocked fish. "Harry, answer my question. Don't cover it up with some lie. Don't protect him."

Harry sighed, caving. "Yes, we had an argument. It wasn't entirely-"

"He left over an argument? Really?" Ginny went pink with rage getting off the bed and racing out the open bedroom door. Thankfully Ginny had taken her wand out of her pocket before laying down with Harry and neglected to pick it up in her fury. Harry grabbed her wand and his own off the bedside table and put it them in his back pocket.

Harry followed Ginny as she stormed up the stairs like a tornado, taking two steps at a time. Ginny flung Ron's bedroom door open. "YOU LEFT?" She yelled. When Harry reached her he saw that Hermione and Ron were entwined on the bed, holding each other close while staring at her wide-eyed in shock due to the jump that Ginny probably gave them when she banged open the door. "YOU LEFT HARRY AND HERMIONE IN THE WOODS OVER SOME ARGUMENT."

Harry was out of breathed, the desire to protect Ron and Hermione was no comparable fuel to Ginny's, her rage. "Ginny stop," Harry touched her arm in an attempt for attention to turn to him, to get her to listen to the rest of his story. This only seemed to only add fuel to her fire, walking over Ron's bed. "You coward," Ginny said darkly. Ron had no defence. Hermione, Harry saw, was starting to panic. Ginny started smacking him randomly, "you coward!" She sobbed but it wasn't stopping her. "Ginny- Ginny! Stop!" Harry grabbed her hands and she struggled for freedom as Harry pulled her back. Wrapping one arm around her shoulder he attempted to restrain her. "Please Ginny, you're upsetting Hermione." Finally, Ginny withdrew. Each breath sounded like she had to push it out of her body, tears threatening to spill and her face was pink. Hermione had started hyperventilating it seemed, due to the yelling, the being enclosed between two people, one hitting and the other being hit, and the traumatic memories of Ron leaving being sprung on her were understandably too much to handle.

Harry let go of Ginny, her wrath being brought down from boiling to steaming and she stomped down the stairs. "I'm really sorry," said Harry. Seeing the state Hermione was in had put a lump in his throat. Harry left to find Ginny, hoping that Ron could comfort Hermione while dealing with the recently reopened wound of guilt.

"How could you forgive him? How did Hermione forgive him? How did she find it in herself to forgive him?"

"It took Hermione some time to forgive him. As much time as possible. For me it was easier, he saved me from drowning immediately after he returned."

"What changed for Hermione? How did she find it within herself? After all, it must have put her through."

"Well, she loves him,"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"And, um... Can I close this?"

"Not fully, mum charmed it so it yells at me when I shut it with you in here with me."

Harry left the door ajar.

Harry kept his voice low, "I think Hermione should be the one telling you this, but it seems if I left it to her she'll never get round to it."

"What is it?"

"When Ron left he was wearing the Horcrux, the one I told you about, the locket. Before he left he was wearing it. As you know the Horcruxes... The Horcruxes mess with your head. It reads you, learns you talents and weaknesses and turns them all against you. We were all already on edge with the camping, hungry all the time, and getting nowhere with what we were supposed to do."

Harry took a deep breath and Ginny sniffled, hiding her pink and freckled face behind her hair. Harry continued his story, but it wasn't the same mood as before.

"And one night, when I was on watch, I saw a Patronus of doe and she wanted me to follow her. She took me to a frozen pond and there was the Sword of Gryffindor inside. Well, I dove in to try in get it but the locket tried to drown me. And something was pulling me out of the water-"

"I was Ron," Ginny murmured.

"Yeah, it was,"

Harry explained that upon his insistence Ron had to be the one to kill the Horcrux. "I can see why he didn't want to be the one to do it. To fight its killer, the Horcrux uses all it knows about its victim to stop them from killing it. I wish I hadn't seen it, it was really personal... And disturbing." Harry said the last part thinking about the part he chose not to mention to Ginny about the image that the Horcrux projected of Riddle like versions of himself and Hermione kissing, although all of it was equally disturbing. "When we came back, Hermione was furious. I don't know where we would be today if I hadn't already had Hermione's wand on me. After that Ron was in a pretty good mood, being able to see Hermione, the love of his life, after all that time."

"And you," Ginny nudged Harry smiling behind her hair and the sniffed again.

"Maybe, a bit," Harry said smiling to himself. "Anyway after that he kept agreeing with Hermione on everything and offering her cups of tea to get back on her good side. Besides, Ron did learn some useful things while he was away like the taboo on Voldemort's name and about Potterwatch."

Telling Ginny about Mr Lovegood did wasn't easy as Luna was a good friend of hers and she had grown fond of him having visited them occasionally in the summer holidays.

"We were caught by snatchers, and they took us to the Malfoys'," Harry continued after much mental preparation.

"Ron told me you were caught."

"Hermione stung my face to be unrecognisable and we gave false names but they worked out who we were and took us. When they searched us they found we had the Gryffindor sword. Bellatrix," Harry stopped to breathe. "Went absolutely berzerk, because the sword was supposed to be in her vault, at Gringotts. She kept Hermione upstairs, and Ron and I were dragged to the cellar and Ron begged..." Harry paused, worried he was sharing too much.

"What did he say?" Ginny asked quietly, her face was pink and incredibly wet.

"He asked to be taken in exchange for Hermione."

Ginny covered her mouth to hold back a sob. "We could hear her screams and Ron... I was trying to figure out a plan to escape but Ron he couldn't focus, he couldn't focus on anything else. He kept calling her name over and over."

"After we escaped Ron wouldn't let go of her until he had absolutely had to. We didn't know if she was gonna be ok after that. We didn't know if she'd recover like she has or if she'd just..." Harry had no words.

"I should probably apologise."

"Yeah, you should."

After a long pause, Harry leant over Ginny and pulled a tissue from the box on her nightstand and offered it to here.

* * *

Dinner to say the least was awkward that night at the Burrow. Ron was pale and appeared to be sitting in a mental pool of guilt. The only thing he said was that Hermione wasn't coming down to dinner because she had fallen asleep and Mrs Weasley promised to save her some dinner for when she woke up.

"I'm such an idiot," Ginny whispered to Harry.

"Don't worry, I can understand why you were mad. We should have told you sooner, Ron and I."

"Well, you're not wrong there," Ginny said looking back at Harry.

"Just apologise for.. addressing it the way you did."

"I will, I will."

* * *

Hermione climbed into her camp bed but Ginny didn't turn out her light, fiddling with her wrist watch.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ginny said very clearly. "I shouldn't have barged in like that. I should've had it out with Ron when you weren't around." Ginny paused, remembering that Hermione most definitely around Ron if Ginny is. "At least out of the way anyway. I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Don't take it out on Ron."

"This isn't about you forgiving him, this is about _me_ forgiving him. I was going to have it out with him regardless. Not only did he leave his best friends of 7 years on their own, he left my friends own their own, he left the girl he's been in love with for the last four years _at least_ on her own."

Hermione didn't say anything and Ginny turned out the light.

* * *

The next day Ginny and Ron went outside into the garden and Harry opened the window to eavesdrop.

"Ron, I'm so sorry. Harry explained everything."

"Well, it's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Ron looked at her for some excuse, fuming.

 _Damn it, Ron!_ Harry thought to himself.

"I know, I just didn't understand. I just… I just…" Ginny was lost for an explanation.

"It really hurt that you brought that backup. We were just starting to get better we were starting to look better and now it's just back to the first day after Hogwarts all over again." Harry knew Ron was talking about the Battle of Hogwarts that had only just occurred a few weeks ago, not their first time on the Hogwarts Express.

"I know, I just… I was so angry. I wasn't thinking."

"Well… I'm sorry I abandoned Hermione and Harry. I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have."

Ginny moved closer and stopped to check if Ron had cooled before hugging him around his waist. Ron returned the hug around her shoulder. Harry couldn't make out what Ginny said to Ron which was, "I still haven't forgiven you." Ron nodded. "Give me three days."

"Ok," said Ron.

* * *

A/N: Hopefully there is no more coding for you guys to struggle through. So annoying!


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